


Upon Leaving Zuko

by Alabaster86



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, The Promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-02-10
Packaged: 2018-03-11 12:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3327428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alabaster86/pseuds/Alabaster86
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mai ponders her decision to leave Zuko.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upon Leaving Zuko

The wind was in a playful mood. Mai was not. With something akin to mischief, it blew with great strength, shifting the dense mass of clouds in the sky, hiding the moon behind mounds of white and grey, then settling down again, allowing the clouds to drift and the moon to appear once more. For a brief few seconds, it cast the garden in a cool, white light. Then, as Mai strode with fierce determination, anger propelling her forward, darkness blanketed her form.

Arms rigid at her sides, the young woman cursed everything, nature included, but Zuko most of all.  Stubborn, idiotic fool, he treated her with no respect and gave her no trust. How could she still love him?  Why did her heart continue to want him despite the hurt he inflicted?  Mai wished she could rip it out and toss it away or stomp it into a red, pulpy mess. Maybe that would end her torment.

Love him or not, she could not stay with him, not while he put his faith in Ozai over her, not while he kept so much secret from her.  Mai had her own pride and her own stubbornness too.  She would not be ‘the girlfriend’, someone Zuko trotted out if he needed her or spoke to if the whim struck him.  She was worth far more than that, and it was high time the Fire Lord realized it. And he’d better do so soon or lose her forever.

Because, much as Mai wanted to cut him now, make him hurt more than _she_ hurt, much as she hated his behaviour, she still pictured her future with Zuko.  So much good and noble resided in him, so much warmth. But he was like a child in some ways, awkward and bumbling around people, unsure how to behave in a relationship, how to give, how to accept help, how to share. Mai was no relationship genius either, but Zuko’s denseness frustrated her. 

With a heavy sigh, she turned a corner and saw the palace gates up ahead. The guards stared at her with open curiosity until Mai’s glare made them shrink and wither.   They opened it up and Mai stepped out onto the cleanly swept street.  The moon showed itself again, illuminating Mai’s face, cold light on pale skin.  She hesitated and for a moment, vulnerability and hurt showed in her expression. Quickly, she hid them away, just as the clouds hid the moon. They might show themselves again, but only for a moment. Mai was in control.

Why then did she feel as though her life was falling apart? And what exactly was she going to do about it?


End file.
